Keeping precise records on each artwork in your collection is part of collecting well. The most obvious reason to do so is to recoup financial loss from your insurance company should a work be stolen or damaged. But more importantly, record keeping instills value to those who inherit or acquire the piece; and, in other scenarios, it can establish monetary value when the artist’s work is in higher demand.
What to keep on file
- Description (artist, title, date, subject, medium, dimensions framed and unframed, edition number)
- Source (from where was it purchased, acquired)
- Location (is the work in your home or office, on loan, with a friend or family member?)
- Cost (attach itemized purchase invoice)
- Expenses (was the work framed, shipped, restored?)
- Activity (was the work exhibited in a design studio, in a magazine, written about?)
- Condition (does the work show signs of mold, craquelure, smoke damage?)
- Appraisal and insurance value history (attach appraisals and insurance policy information)
- Extant documentation (attach all records handed down from previous collectors, consignors, curators)
